“a family-owned production company in the arts”

Foty Fusion Productions, Incorporated is a family-owned production company that provides products and services in the arts. Our name refers to two core elements of our company: Family and Fusion. Family represents the strong bond that was catalyzed through our growth in the arts and that we exude in our work. Fusion represents the multiplicity and diversity of the arts backgrounds that each of our members brings to the table. With key departments specializing in Fine Arts & Education, Film, Photography and Web Services, and Music Performance and Instruction, Foty Fusion aims to encompass the multifaceted nature of the arts. Highlighting the connection and interdependence between local and international communities, Foty Fusion seeks to create sustainable interaction and solidarity with people around the world. The work of the company seeks to promote the social justice ideals of the founding members through the arts and through individual personal expressions within each member’s respective field.

Our Story

With a mother who is a visual artist, and an oud player and vocalist as a father, we grew up in a vibrant and creative environment where our artistic abilities were constantly being nurtured and honed. Like many young children, our artistic collaborations began through the simple words “just pretend”. As we grew and evolved, these creative sessions only became more elaborate and sophisticated. As we were confronted with the racism and militarism arising out of the post-9/11 climate and the lead up to the invasion in Iraq, we began to use our music as a form of political expression.

Growing up as Arab-Americans in Washington DC, we had immense pride in our Egyptian-Palestinian-African heritage, and expressed that outspoken political and cultural identity in our schools and communities. Attending DC public schools exposed us to a multicultural richness. We were nourished on this diversity, in social, political and musical contexts, as we were exposed to various musical genres including hip-hop, jazz, opera, reggaeton, go-go, salsa, gospel and classical music, among others. We became known in the community for our musical band Foty Fusion, which uniquely blended the colorful musical palette that DC had to offer with our traditional Arabic musical heritage, a major influence in the development of our own musical identity.

While in middle school and high school, we created our first self-composed CD, The Key of Life, inspired by the 2003 anti-war movement against the invasion of Iraq. We were active in leading many of the student movements against the War in Iraq, for immigration reform and against gentrification among other local issues. As our interaction with political movements grew through our performances at various forums, we began to see the powerful potential in linking oppressed communities both internationally and at home.

As each of us graduated high school and focused on our education and respective careers, we didn’t have the time to meet together and make music in the same way. It wasn’t until we each finished our respective degrees that we realized that the most powerful and passionate things we had ever produced had been as a family. With our combined passions in so many areas of the arts, we thought, why not combine them into a company where we could offer services in the arts to our communities, support local artists and initiatives and combine them with our own visions? It was then that the idea of Foty Fusion Productions was born, merging the core elements of Fusion and Family to create “a family-owned production company in the arts.”

Meet the Family

http://fotyfusion.com/fuad-foty/

Fuad Foty

Co-Director of Music Performance & Instruction

Fuad Foty is an oud instrumentalist and a vibrant vocalist with over thirty years of performance and musical instruction experience. Born in Ramallah, Palestine, an integral part of Fuad’s childhood involved learning the classical Arabic songs of the musicians and composers of the time. His passion for the oud quickly evolved and he joined various Arab bands, and started playing music to inform the American public about Palestine and the Palestinian cause.

Foty Fusion Productions

http://fotyfusion.com/mona-el-bayoumi/

Mona El-Bayoumi

Director of Fine Arts

Mona El-Bayoumi is a prominent Egyptian-American artist. Her work has been featured in galleries and institutions both in the United States as well as internationally, notably in Cairo, Paris and Johannesburg. Her work has elicited extensive interest worldwide due to her artistic reflections on pertinent world events.

Foty Fusion Productions

http://fotyfusion.com/ziad-foty/

Ziad Foty

Director of Film

Ziad Foty is an emerging independent filmmaker. He holds his Bachelor of Arts from Lafayette College in English Literature with a concentration in Film, and a Masters of Philosophy in Film Studies from Trinity College Dublin in Ireland. His films explore a range of counter hegemonic orientations associated with the process of representation. In his work he has addressed topics related to identity, feminism, and racism.

Foty Fusion Productions

http://fotyfusion.com/fairouz-foty/

Fairouz Foty

Co-Director of Music Performance & Instruction

Fairouz El-Bayoumi Foty received her Bachelor’s Degree in Music and Africana Studies from Lafayette College in 2011. She thereafter earned her Masters of Music in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy with a Performance emphasis from Westminster Choir College. She has studied opera under the direction of Carlos Cesar Rodriguez for over nine years and debuted with Carol Opera Company as Micaela in Carmen.

Foty Fusion Productions

http://fotyfusion.com/nadine-foty/

Nadine Foty

Director of Education

Nadine El-Bayoumi Foty obtained her Bachelor of Arts in History and African/Afro-American Studies from the University of Michigan in 2012 and later went on to get a Masters in Arab History from the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in 2014.